K. Leroy Irvis

K. Leroy Irvis (December 27, 1919 – March 16, 2006) was the first African American to serve as a speaker of the house in any state legislature in the United States since Reconstruction. John Roy Lynch (1847–1939) of Mississippi was the first African American to hold that position. Mr. Irvis, a Democrat, represented Pittsburgh in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1958–1988.